After Webster Shooting, Calls Renewed For Gun Control

Rep. Louise Slaughter said the shooting near Rochester today is another reason for tougher gun laws in the country.

“Our nation must address out-of-control gun violence and I am firmly committed to doing my part,” Slaughter (left), D-Fairport, Monroe County, who will represent Webster in January, said in a statement. “Congress must pass comprehensive legislation as soon as possible and bring an end to the senseless gun violence that has taken too many innocent lives.”

Two firefighters were killed and two were injured in what police said appeared to be an ambush by a lone gunman when Webster firefighters responded to a house and car fire in a lakefront neighborhood. The gunman is dead, police said.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman didn’t call on the state Legislature to pass tougher gun laws, but said “As this investigation unfolds, we stand with our partners in law enforcement to ensure that lethal weapons are out of the hands of dangerous people, so that the brave New Yorkers who risk their lives every day to protect us are not exposed to additional danger.”

Even before the Webster shooting, the state Legislature was expected to pass a package of gun-control laws either by month’s end or next year. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has wanted tougher gun laws in the wake of the Newtown school shootings.

In his statement today about the Webster shootings, Cuomo didn’t use it as an opportunity to address gun control.

He called it a “senseless act of violence” and said that “New York’s first responders are true heroes as they time and again selflessly rush toward danger in order to keep our families and communities safe.”

Tom King, president of the state Rifle and Pistol Association, warned lawmakers to not make any decisions in haste. He said today he was confident that Senate Republicans, who will still maintain a hold on the chamber in January, would not adopt any burdensome measures on gun owners, such as a possible confiscation program hinted by Cuomo last week.

“Any lawmaker who says passing another gun-control law will make the streets safer and the people can sleep better at night because they don’t have to worry is very much uninformed,” King said on WGDJ-AM (1300).

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks also called for calm at a news briefing on the shooting.

“Emotions are extremely high. There’s a heightened awareness to this kind of violence in light of what happened in Connecticut. I just want everyone to remember: It’s Christmas eve. We have first-responders and we have families who are in pain and in crisis today,” Brooks, a Republican, said. “And we need to as a community keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”

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Jon Campbell has been covering government and politics for the Gannett Albany Bureau since May 2011. Previously, he covered health and environmental issues for the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y., with a focus on natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale.

Joseph Spector is Gannett Albany Bureau chief and has covered New York politics and government since 2002. He was the political reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle and has since joined the Albany Bureau, covering state government for all of Gannett New York.

Brian Tumulty has worked in the Gannett Washington Bureau since 1992, first as a national business writer and then as a regional reporter for newspapers in New York, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A native of the New York City borough of Queens, he attended high school on Long Island and college in the Bronx. He has four children and one granddaughter.

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Gary Craig's focus for much of the past decade has been on criminal justice issues. He has won regional, state and national journalism awards, including honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors and the National Headliners Awards.

Len LaCara is the exclusive enterprise editor for the Democrat and Chronicle, in charge of local news, sports and business. He also directs our political coverage.

Meaghan McDermott has been with the Democrat and Chronicle since 1998, and has come close to reaching her one-time goal of being assigned as a beat reporter to cover each of Monroe County's suburban towns and villages. Since 2006, her focus has been on the Town of Greece and the Greece Central School District.

Steve Orr has been a reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle since 1981, and has covered a wide variety of local topics. At present Orr focuses on environmental issues. Contact: E-mail | Phone (585) 258-2386 | Twitter.com/SOrr1 | Facebook.com/SteveOrrROC